Ultrasound-guided bilateral pulsed radiofrequency of the phrenic nerve for prolonged hiccups: a case report.

Singultus is the sudden onset of erratic diaphragmatic and intercostal muscle contraction immediately followed by laryngeal closure. Pathophysiology involves afferent, central and efferent components. Bilateral phrenic nerve block was performed to a 46-year-old woman with a brain tumor with persistent hiccups, with initially positive response but later symptom recurrence. Bilateral pulsed radiofrequency of the phrenic nerve was performed guided by ultrasonography (US). In the follow-up, absence of hiccups was confirmed. The patient was discharged 24 h later. Persistent or untreatable singultus is an infrequent condition that should not be dismissed. This approach is a safe, accurate and effective therapeutic approach for patient's refractory to conservative treatment. Further studies are needed to establish safety and effectiveness of the treatment.

Medicina regenerativa en el tratamiento de dolor crónico. Una revisión integrativa de la literatura / Regenerative medicine in the treatment of chronic pain. An integrative review of the literature

A pesar de que las terapias de medicina regenerativa continúan mostrando importante evidencia en cuanto a su segu-ridad y eficacia, en la actualidad no existen indicaciones ni recomendaciones específicas sobre su uso. En este sentido, el propósito de la presente revisión fue recopilar la literatura científica existente sobre las múltiples terapias biológicas disponibles en la actualidad. La búsqueda bibliográfica se realizó a través de las plataformas PubMed, Cochrane, Ovid, SciELO y Google Scholar utilizando los siguientes términos MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) y palabras clave de interés: Plasma rico en plaque-tas, Proloterapia y Células madre mesenquimales. Se incluyeron aquellos artículos que contuvieran los biológicos en el tratamiento de dolor crónico con nivel de evidencia desde I hasta V (según el enfoque cualitativo modificado para la calificación de la evidencia) publicados en los últimos 10 años y cuya población de estudio fueran humanos adultos. Aunque la medicina regenerativa es prometedora, es necesario realizar investigaciones de forma continua sobre esta para potenciar el uso de sus diversas modalidades en indicaciones específicas. Una de las principales limitaciones de las terapias regenerativas es la falta de métodos estándar de preparación, administración y técnicas de medición en torno a su uso.

Despite the fact that regenerative medicine therapies continue to show important evidence regarding their safety and efficacy, there are currently no specific indications or recommendations for their use. The purpose of this review was to compile the existing scientific literature on the multiple biological therapies currently available. The bibliographic search was carried out through the PubMed, Cochrane, Ovid, SciELO and Google Scholar platforms using the following MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms and keywords of interest: Platelet-rich plasma, Prolothe-rapy and Mesenchymal stem cells. Articles containing biologics in the treatment of chronic pain with level of evidence from I to V (according to the modified qualitative approach for qualifying the evidence) published in the last 10 years and whose study population were adult humans were included.Although regenerative medicine is promising, ongoing research is needed on it to enhance the use of its various moda-lities for specific indications. One of the main limitations of regenerative therapies is the lack of standard methods of preparation, administration, and measurement techniques around their use.